The present invention relates to a device and a method for the blanching or skinning of raw or roasted peanuts and other nut products.
Various devices have been proposed for the removal of shells or skins from various materials. For example, the Lowe U.S. Pat. No. 1,581,071 and the Wilkerson U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,049 describe tomato peelers, the Southan U.S. Pat. No. 1,984,237 describes an onion skinner and the Harris U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,716 describes an oyster sheller. These devices have somewhat similar features to the vegetable washer of the Sells U.S. Pat. No. 1,381,510 and the bean polisher and dryer of the McFarland U.S. Pat. No. 1,645,440. Certain devices, such as those of the Powell U.S. Pat. No. 1,075,222 or the Magnuson U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,162 are said to be generally applicable to the peeling of fruits and vegetables.
Special considerations apply, however, with respect to the blanching of nuts such as peanuts. For example, peanuts are delicate and subject to splitting. The forces encountered in the removal of skins of vegetables may crush peanuts.
Accordingly, special devices have been developed for the treatment of peanuts. Thus, the Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 310,127 describes a peanut cleaner. Also, the Swart U.S. Pat. No. 3,242,958 describes a peanut sheller. However, it is noted that devices which remove the shells from peanuts are quite distinguishable from blanchers which remove only the skins therefrom.
The Green U.S. Pat. No. 2,702,574 describes a device for the removal of skins from nuts by an abrasive action along a conveyor. Furthermore, the Barnes, Jr. et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,964 describes a funnel-shaped device for blanching heated or roasted peanuts, wherein skins are removed by the combined action of abrasive forces and an air stream. However, the device described in the Barnes, Jr. et al patent is said to be suitable only for small scale batch operations.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for devices and methods for effectively blanching nuts in both large and small scale operations.